Lords examines proposed changes to rules on immigration

13 July 2010

The House of Lords Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee is holding a public evidence session at 3.45pm this afternoon to question the Government on the proposal to limit immigration to the UK under Tier 1, highly skilled workers, of the points-based system.

Baroness Neville-Jones, Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism will give evidence.

The Merits Committee is expected to ask the Minister how the Government reached the conclusion that limiting immigration of highly skilled workers to the UK would reduce any adverse social impacts of immigration and why the Government considers that these changes to Tier 1 will continue to attract the brightest and best people UK as its policy objective states.

The call for oral evidence forms part of the scrutiny of the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, the instrument used to implement the proposal. Other areas that the Committee is expected to examine include:

whether the Government has considered how changes to the rules will impact on any particular professions

the impact of changes for Tier 1 on the broader economic situation

how the Government arrived at its figures for falls in the volume of applicants

The Home Office laid a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules on 28 June to implement the proposal on a temporary basis while the Government consults on how the limits should be determined and implemented in the longer term.

The proposal received a high degree of media coverage with some organisations expressing concerns about the possible impact. The Merits Committee issued a Call for Written Evidence and received responses from a broad range of organisations.